Pleasant weather, midweek voting day aid big turnout in Karnataka

Bengaluru: Karnataka saw heavy polling, which continued well past 6 pm as people came out in large numbers across 58,545 polling stations. The election commission issued tokens to all voters who were in queue at 6 pm to allow them to vote beyond polling hours. Polling continued late into the day as people waited patiently for their turn to vote. Pleasant weather and midweek voting day seem to have positively influenced the turnout.

At Kurlagindi village in Ballari district, a 23-year old woman gave birth to a baby in a polling booth. Women officials and voters helped her with the delivery. At Chikkole village in Belur Taluk of Hassan district, 49-year-old Jayanna died of heart attack soon after casting his vote. In another incident, Paravva Sidnal (70) died even before casting her vote at Yarajharvi village in Belagavi district.

At Masabinala village in Vijayapura district, people stopped a sector officer's vehicle carrying reserved EVMs and destroyed control and ballot units on Tuesday night. Police have arrested 23 persons in the case.

Many people travelled to the state or to their native locations in the state to vote. Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy reached Bengaluru from an overseas trip to vote with wife Sudha Murty at a polling station in Jayanagar in South Bengaluru. Voters included first-timers, senior citizens, newlyweds and even those with health issues.

About 94,000 voters aged 80 years or above and persons with disabilities voted from their homes, a first for Karnataka. EC said that the polling was largely peaceful in all the 224 assembly constituencies. Election authorities have not ordered a repoll in any of the 58,545 polling stations.

The overall mood in the state was peaceful, additional DGP (law and order) Alok Kumar told ET. "While some places saw mild clashes, there was nothing of major concern. We have taken action against the perpetrators wherever incidents happened," he said.